Reaper

by Wesley Brown

  “Ensure that Mr. Jones makes his way onto my ship,” Reaper ordered the man, then entered into his quarters with Blackbeard.

  Blackbeard entered the large, comfortable quarters and saw nothing out of the order, nor anything that appeared particularly threatening. He sat down at the table bordering the expansive window and set his feet up on the pile of blank parchment sprawled across it.

  “Be a good host and pour us a drink,” Blackbeard said.

  “Sure, what’s your drink? Wine? Rum?” Reaper asked.

  “Rum,” Blackbeard answered. Reaper set three cups on the table and retrieved a bottle of rum from the closet near the desk. He poured the cups and sat with his back to the window. “Talk.”

  “I want you, your crew, and your ship,” Reaper said. Blackbeard started to stand. “Wait. Sit.”

  “I came here on good faith. Not something you often get from me,” Blackbeard said. “You have insulted me.”

  “I’ve insulted you?” Reaper asked rhetorically. “You put your feet on my table and demanded a drink.”

  “I only suggested that you be a good host.” Blackbeard turned for the door.

  “Edward Teach, stop,” Reaper commanded. Blackbeard halted in his tracks, peeking over his shoulder at Reaper.

  “How do you know that name?” Blackbeard asked.

  “The same way I know about your powers,” Reaper said. “Take a seat.”

  “Perhaps I should inform my crew that I will be staying,” Blackbeard suggested. Reaper nodded, and Blackbeard stepped out and announced the new arrangement to his crew. As Blackbeard did this, Davy entered the room. When Blackbeard came back, he shut the door, and Reaper introduced them.

  “Captain Jones, this is—” Reaper started.

  “Mr. Teach, please, call me Davy,” Davy said with a grin, extending his hand.

  “That’s Blackbeard,” Blackbeard said. He looked at Reaper. “Just how many people know that name?” Davy lowered his hand.

  “Everyone in this room,” Reaper said.

  “How did you learn my secret?” Blackbeard asked.

  “I’m like you. Well, we both are,” Reaper said.

  “We have unusual abilities,” Davy said. Blackbeard looked at the two of them in confusion.

  “Perhaps a demonstration?” Davy suggested to Reaper.

  “Indeed,” Reaper said. He stood and closed his eyes for a few seconds. When his eyes opened, he had accessed the ability to shift through matter like Herne. He walked through the table toward Blackbeard, who tripped over himself backing away.

  “Stop,” Blackbeard demanded. Reaper became solid and helped Blackbeard to his feet.

  “What can you do?” Reaper asked.

  “A few things.”

  “Strength? Speed? Flight?”

  “No, no, nothing like that.”

  “Then what?” Davy asked.

  “What interest is it of yours?” Blackbeard asked Davy.

  “Up until I met Reaper, I thought I was alone, but now there are three of us,” Davy said.

  “But why should I tell you when you haven’t told me?” Blackbeard asked.

  “I can change the winds. No ship in the world can outrun a ship with me on it.”

  “Fascinating.”

  “And you can?”

  “I can refuse to tell you what I can do,” Blackbeard said.

  “Edward,” Reaper said. Blackbeard turned his head to Reaper violently and glared. “Blackbeard. You are among those rare few who will understand you. We all have abilities superior to that of average men, we are each pirate captains, and we all have a common enemy.”

  “Anyone who would stand between me and what I want to take,” Blackbeard said.

  “No. Good guess, though,” Reaper said. “No—there is a more dangerous foe in this world than any royal navy. They’re in possession of a vessel, and we need to destroy it. This ship will be no good in the hands of anyone, especially King Jakob Ellis.”

  “King who?” Blackbeard asked.

  “Actually, Reaper, this is new to me too,” Davy said.

  “I came to the both of you, and not by chance,” Reaper said.

  “You’ve told me about the meetings with your friend,” Davy said.

  “He has given me the location of a naval base. This naval base is building a vessel unlike anything any of us have ever seen. I want the two of you to help me destroy it. After all, our kind should stick together. Now seems as good a time as any to band together.”

  “You have peaked my interest,” Blackbeard said.

  “Just wait,” Davy said.

  “The base is beneath the waves,” Reaper said.

  “Now you have peaked my interest,” Davy said. “What makes this vessel so bad?”

  “Yes, why do you want it destroyed?” Blackbeard asked.

  “It will move undetected and destroy without being seen,” Reaper said.

  “You want my cooperation,” Blackbeard stated. “If it means keeping my ship and life, I’ll destroy your fish-ship.”

  The three captains struck an accord and made their way into the Bermuda Triangle. Over three hundred miles west of Nassau, the Flying Dutchman, Wrath of Njord, and Queen Anne’s Revenge held steady. The captains gathered to discuss how they would go about luring the vessel to the surface in order to destroy it. What they did not realize was that the vessel was already mobile, and their presence directly above the base that had built this ship caught the attention of those who lived below. The meeting between Reaper, Davy, and Blackbeard was rudely interrupted by a large blast. The Flying Dutchman rollicked over the waves from the blast. The three men rushed out of Reaper’s quarters on deck. From there, they could see the Wrath of Njord on fire and already beginning to sink.

  “What could do that?” Davy shouted.

  “There!” Blackbeard called out, pointing off port.

  Rising from the water was a sleek white submarine that was shaped much like a giant squid. Standing on top of the vessel was the mad lord of Atlantis, King Jakob Ellis. He stood with his shoulders spread and his chest puffed out, gripping the mighty trident. He wore a gold crown laden with sapphires and emeralds that surrounded the Jewel of Atlantis, resting on his silver hair. The Jewel of Atlantis was a yellow star-shaped jewel with mystic powers, and was only one piece of the ancient Armor of the Seas. The trident was another piece to this armor. To Reaper’s own fortune, those were the only pieces that King Ellis wielded.

  The mad king wore a deep blue cape over his gilded breastplate. Beneath his gold-plated armor on his arms, legs, and around his waist, he wore a deep blue suit. His eyes were the color of the sea itself during a hurricane. A long silver beard hung from his wrinkled face.

  “Consider that a warning!” King Ellis shouted. “Leave this place now!”

  “If he’s offering us to leave, perhaps we should take him up on it,” Davy suggested.

  “Nay,” Reaper said. He walked to the edge of his ship. As he walked, he turned back to Davy and Blackbeard. “Best be preparing for a fight.” He stopped at the railing. “Oy!” he called out. “It is my duty to inform you that you have attacked my ship. For fair compensation, I’ll be taking yours.” Blackbeard perked up at the sound of owning the subversive vessel. Several Atlantian soldiers stepped out of the vessel onto the hull of the Kraken.

  “You must be mad!” King Ellis cried.

  “I’m not the one they will forever call Silverbeard the Mad, though!” Reaper shouted.

  “What?” the mad king stammered. “What? Who? Where did you hear that name?” He turned to the soldiers coming out of the Kraken. “Who’s been talking?” he screamed as he fired a blast of energy from the tip of the trident at one of his men. He stepped to the soldier left of the one he had just killed, his nose almost touching the soldier’s, but not before the trident impaled him. “Have you been talking?” The soldier gagged as the blood rose in his throat.

  “N-no, m-my king,” the soldier said.

  “You speak when I say
you can!” King Ellis spat. While the mad king raged, Reaper ordered his crew to prepare for an all-out battle.

  “I’m leaving this in your hands, gentlemen,” Reaper said to Davy and Blackbeard. “Keep them above water.” Reaper entered his quarters with a fifty-pound cannonball. The door closed behind him.

  “Where are you going?” Davy asked, but there was no answer. He turned to Blackbeard. “How do we keep them on the surface?”

  “I’m going to board them,” Blackbeard said.

  “You must be mad.”

  “Oy!” Blackbeard shouted out. “Fish king! I challenge you!”

  “Blackbeard, perhaps we should discuss your tact,” Davy suggested.

  “I want your best men, so that they may fall on my blade!” Blackbeard issued his challenge, and the foolish but powerful king accepted.

  “I want their ships! I want their heads!” Silverbeard the Mad shouted. One of his men called down the hatch. Soldiers flooded out and began firing harpoons.

  “I thought you were boarding them?” Davy shouted.

  “Ay, but this is almost better,” Blackbeard said with a grin. “All hands on deck!” he shouted out with his sword lifted high.

  Silverbeard leaped into the waters and torpedoed at the Flying Dutchman, then shot up over the side and landed on deck. With ease, he cut down the pirates. Blackbeard stepped down from the railing and walked toward Silverbeard. There was a dark presence around Blackbeard. The jewel on Silverbeard’s crown radiated with light. A yellow blast of magic shot out at Blackbeard. At that same moment, Blackbeard’s eyes flared, then fell solid black—except for the pupils, which were hot like fire. The larger veins in Blackbeard’s face appeared to be cracked open and glowing red hot. He spat a burst of fire out of his mouth that collided with the magic energy in the air. The pirates were caught off guard, which led to many of them dying at the hands of the Atlantian soldiers. Silverbeard too was surprised by this, as he had never encountered a human that could achieve suck an amazing feat. He brushed this aside and fired a steady stream of magical energy out of the jewel. In retaliation, Blackbeard held a steady stream of fire. This left the tips of Blackbeard’s beard smoking—practically glowing. The point where the two attacks met was so hot that were someone to step in its path, they would surely be disintegrated.

  Blackbeard’s fire was losing its strength, as it was only as strong as the breath that he had. When Davy saw Blackbeard drop to one knee, he ran across the deck and let out a gust of wind. It was not a powerful gust—just strong enough to stagger Silverbeard and interrupt his attack. Blackbeard took in a deep breath, and so did Davy. Silverbeard took his stance and fired his attack at them. Blackbeard began to breathe fire, and Davy let out his own powerful wind. The strong wind made the fire stronger, and for a moment, it seemed like it might overpower the magic gem. Silverbeard took a dive to his left. He stood and threw the trident. Blackbeard pushed Davy over and jumped back. The trident flew between them and into the mast. Blackbeard rushed at Silverbeard with a pistol in each hand. Blackbeard fired four shots between the two pistols with no effect on Silverbeard. Silverbeard stood still as Blackbeard walked right up to him. Standing there, face to face, only inches away, Blackbeard took in a deep breath and let it out on Silverbeard. This gave Silverbeard a brief moment of fatigue, but nothing more. Silverbeard picked Blackbeard up by his throat.

  “Foolish human,” Silverbeard laughed. “Allow me to taunt you.” Before he could say another word, Blackbeard’s beard extended and wrapped around Silverbeard’s arm. Silverbeard let go of Blackbeard, giving him exactly what he needed. Now with a solid place to stand, Blackbeard flipped Silverbeard over his head. Silverbeard crashed onto the deck, and before he could stand, Davy stabbed him through the throat with the trident.

  The fighting ended right away. The Atlantians retreated back to the Kraken. Davy kicked in the doors to Reaper’s quarters. There Reaper sat, holding the cannonball in both hands. A strange orange aura surrounded Reaper’s arms and the cannonball.

  “Their king is dead and they’re getting away!” Davy said in a panic.

  “I suppose this will have to do, then,” Reaper said. He stood and kept both hands on the cannonball as he moved towards a cannon. “Bring her about!”

  Davy manned the helm and steered the Dutchman into a firing solution. Reaper placed the cannonball inside the cannon. The ball itself carried the orange glow. Where Reaper’s fingers had been placed, there were now glowing spots.

  “What’s that? Some secret weapon?” Blackbeard asked.

  “You could say that,” Reaper answered. “It should destroy their vessel.”

  “Wait.” Blackbeard grabbed Reaper’s hand before he could light the fuse. “We could use it. You’re down a ship anyhow.”

  “You want it for yourself,” Reaper said.

  “If you don’t want it.”

  “No, it goes and it goes now,” Reaper said, and pulled his arm away from Blackbeard. “It’s too dangerous.”

  “I know.” Blackbeard punched Reaper in the face. “I’m already the most feared pirate in the world—imagine if I could go anywhere unseen.”

  “Blackbeard, stop!” Davy called as he descended from the stairs. “If Reaper says it needs to be destroyed, then he must have good reason.”

  “Not good enough,” Blackbeard said. “That ship belongs to me!” He punched his chest. “Who would serve under me on the most powerful vessel in the world?” Several members of Reaper’s crew pondered this and murmured to each other.

  “Davy!” Reaper called, and threw his stick to Davy. He then tackled Blackbeard to the floor.

  “No!” Blackbeard screamed. He punched Reaper off and extended his beard to grab Davy’s arm, but it was too late. Davy fired the cannon, and the Kraken was gone in an incredible, destructive display. “You ruined it!” His beard wrapped around Davy’s arm and tossed him across the ship.

  “Edward, that’s enough,” Reaper said. Blackbeard stood quietly.

  “What did you just call me?” Blackbeard’s eyes flared again.

  “I know you don’t like that name to be said, but I needed your attention,” Reaper said.

  “You used that name.” Blackbeard paused. “In front of them.” Blackbeard pointed to the crew. He drew a deep breath and let out a great wave of fire at the crew.

  “Edward, no!” Reaper shouted as he rushed Blackbeard.

  “No? I told you to never use that name,” Blackbeard said, and picked Reaper up by the throat with his beard.

  “So, that’s what you can do,” Reaper squeezed out, before taking his sword and cutting the beard in one hard swipe. Reaper’s boots touched down, and the two engaged in swordplay. Davy attempted to douse the crew members that were burning while the other two captains fought. Blackbeard gained some distance between himself and Reaper. From there, he began to spit out bursts of fire. One after another, Reaper cut them with his sword. Reaper swung at Blackbeard, who blocked. Blackbeard pushed Reaper’s sword down onto a crate and put his boot on it. Reaper looked up and saw Blackbeard was about to breath fire at him. Reaper preemptively stepped back, but Blackbeard instead extended his beard, holding Reaper at his wrists and ankles. Blackbeard pulled, making sure that Reaper could not pull free. He brought Reaper close and, much like with Silverbeard, breathed fire on Reaper’s face. Reaper screamed, though it was unclear if his screams were the evidence of pain or a battle cry. Davy saw this and ran to aid Reaper. Blackbeard dropped Reaper, thinking he must be dead—an easily made mistake, as there was no flesh on Reaper’s skull. In fact, his bare facial structure looked exactly like the face Death had when he would appear to Reaper in centuries gone by.

  Blackbeard and Davy approached one another. Each took a deep breath and attempted to push each other back. As neither one held back, neither one faltered. That was when Reaper, his flesh growing back, took his sword and removed Edward “Blackbeard” Teach’s head.

  Blackbeard’s head tumbled down from his shoulders and struck th
e deck. Fire spewed out from the top of his throat until the air coming from his lungs stopped. One last burst of flame came out when his chest flew hard onto the deck. Reaper dropped his sword and fell to his knees.

  “Reaper.” Davy went to him. “Are you alright?”

  “Blink was right,” Reaper said. “I just can’t save everyone.”

  “Reaper, what do we do now?” Davy asked. “Blackbeard’s crew won’t like that he’s dead.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Reaper said.

  “Pull yourself together, mate,” Davy said. “You still owe me for helping you.”

  “After all this, you still want to be rid of your powers. Why?” Reaper asked. “You’ve used them for such good.”

  “I’ve seen how they can be used for evil, I’d rather lose them than risk becoming a monster. I don’t want to be like Blackbread.”

  “Edward was no monster.”

  “I’m sure his mother would agree, but do you think Blackbeard had a family?” Davy asked.

  “I’ll tell you where you can find the Master. The journey will be long, likely dangerous,” Reaper said.

  “I can hold my own.”

  “The Master has several locations in the Himalaya Mountains. You’ll want to approach from the south. From the base of the mountain, you’ll know you’re in the right place. They won’t understand you, but they will know my name. If you say my name to them, they will take you to the Master. He will understand you,” Reaper said. “We’ll take the Queen Anne’s Revenge back to England. From there, you can make your way to the Master’s temple.”

  “What do we say about Blackbeard?” Davy asked. Reaper closed his eyes and took the form of Blackbeard. This frightened Davy.

  “I’ll handle them,” Reaper said through the mouth of Blackbeard.

  “Why don’t you join me? Rid yourself of this curse.”

  “The Master cannot keep this burden.”

  Under the guise of Blackbeard, Reaper sailed the Queen Anne’s Revenge back to England. He left the ship far from shore and took the life raft with Davy. Before leaving, he named a new man as Blackbeard. In time, this man shared a similar fate to the original Edward Teach. Reaper wandered off to find a nice green hillside to rest on as Davy Jones visited his sister. He was greeted with a warm embrace. After only one night, he left for his trip to meet with the Master. In time, Davy Jones became a normal man, returned to London, and even raised a family. He got an end that is almost storybook. Reaper, however, would continue to live his broken life.